Starting October 1st non – student and home rentals will be licensed and inspected by the Code Enforcement department in the Town of Bloomsburg. The 4 to 3 vote to approve the measure came Monday night during a packed council meeting at the fire hall... following a litany of concerns... and impassioned pleas to table the proposal or... as resident Sandy Davis put it..... enforce the ordinances the town already has. Mayor Dan Knorr voted for the measure.... as did council members Diane Levan... Bill Kreischer and Carey Howell. Council members Fred Trump... Sylvia Costa and Eric Bower voted against the measure. It would require the Town to hire at least one more full – timer for Code Enforcement... with benefits... as well as associated items such as a car... a computer and office equipment. Knorr said he doesn't believe the ordinance... which spells out licenses and fees... won't see much change before it goes into effect.... and the political impact to council members will be minimal at best.

Flood Protection

State Representative David Millard says he's happy that flood walls will be built around two of Bloomsburg's flood – prone industries. The federal government's Economic Development Agency announced last week will co – invest 15 million dollars... along with 12 million from the state... and three million from Autoneum and Windsor Foods for the walls. Millard... a Mt. Pleasant Township Republican... says the money and flood walls will be a help. The walls around Autoneum and Windsor Foods is designed to save an estimated 900 jobs at the two plants... forced to shut down and clean up... following the flooding produced by Tropical Storm Lee back in 2011.

Shenandoah Fire

An early Saturday morning fire in Shenandoah either destroyed or damaged nine row homes along West Coal Street... the flames jumping from house to house. Before the flames were brought under control... four alarms had been sounded. Two people were taken to hospitals... one of them taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville for traumatic injuries. No word as to what caused Saturday morning's fire in Shenandoah.

Hale Retirement

Now that Danny Hale announced his retirement as head football coach at Bloomsburg University at the start of the weekend... there will be a changing of the guard. Hale's assistant for the past sixteen year... Paul Darragh moves into Hale's role on an interim basis. But, Darragh says don't expect to see many changes in the program. Hale's retirement is effective at the end of June.... leaving the program after twenty years with a 173 – 56 and 1 record.

Sequestration
With $85 - billion dollars in automatic, across-the-board spending cuts bearing down on the federal government... that is expected to be a big problem for Pennsylvanians. From housing aid to childcare assistance -- few federal programs are immune to the sequester. Marianne Bellesorte of Pathways PA says federal sequestration would cut critical funding for job training programs. In Pennsylvania alone... an estimated 45,000 fewer people can get the job skills they need.

Hazleton Shooting

The investigation continues today into the shooting death of a 19 – year old man in Hazleton over the weekend. Angel Villalobos died late Saturday after he was shot and killed. A subsequent autopsy shows Villalobos died of multiple gunshot wounds. A second man... aged 24... was also injured in the gunfire. He was treated and released from Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township.

Government Cheat

The State Office of Inspector General says a 32 – year old Hazleton man tried to cheat the welfare system. In a news release... Inspector General Kenya Mann Faulkner said Danial Bonardi received more than a thousand dollars in cash assistance benefits. Bonardi was caught.... and after court proceedings... .was sentenced to up to two months in jail... and was ordered to pay full restitution. 17 other individuals were convicted last month of swindling an estimated $101,000 from the state government.

Wilkes – Barre Robbery

The investigation is on – going into an armed robbery in Wilkes – Barre. It went down Sunday morning when a man allegedly held up the Quick Food Mart at West Maple and North Main Streets. The man allegedly strolled into the store... threatened the clerk with a weapon... and fled. He was captured a short time later by Wilkes – Barre Police.

Rebate Forms

Forms for the state’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program for tax year 2012 are now available. The state says eligible participants can receive a rebate of up to $650 based on their rent or property taxes paid in 2012. The program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians who are 65 years or older, widows and widowers 50 years or older, and those 18 years or older with permanent disabilities. You can pick up forms at state offices across the region.

WHLM Sports

Benton Wrestling

The Benton High School wrestling team crowned three champions and finished first in the District 4 Class AA championships which concluded Saturday at Williamsport High School. Winning gold medals for the Tigers were Matt Welliver at 120 pounds, Zain Retherford at 138 pounds... and Colt Cotten at 145 pounds.

High School Basketball

Four area high school basketball teams are still alive in the post season playoffs. All four will play in District 4 semifinals this week. Tuesday night, the Danville boys and girls teams will both play Shikellamy in Class AAA games at Shamokin High School. Catch the action on the WHLM Stations starting with the pregame show at 5:40.

The Benton girls play Lourdes Regional Tuesday night at 6 O'clock at the McCloskey Center in Danville in a Class A semifinal... and Wednesday night at 6, the Southern Columbia girls play Lewisburg at Milton in a Class AA semifinal.